Latino Daily News

Progress Report on Minority Students in Arizona

Fewer than one in every 10 minority graduates of Arizona high schools are “college ready,” according to a new report from the University of Arizona’s College of Education.

The report, “Arizona in Transformation: Arizona Minority Student Progress Report 2013,” cites a warning from the Morrison Institute that “Arizona is at risk of becoming a second-tier state, educationally and economically.”

The study indicates that in the past 15 years, a dramatic transformation has occurred in the number of minority students in the state’s elementary schools and high schools.

UA researchers found that less than 50 percent of Arizona high school students complete the 16 core courses required for admission to the state’s three public universities.

It is estimated that in general only two in every 10 students in Arizona are college ready. The ratio falls to fewer than one in 10 among American Indian, black, and Hispanic students.

The report recommends that public school teachers should be better trained to meet the cultural needs of minority students, particularly of those whose first language is not English.

It also suggests establishing “concrete goals to close disparities between students of color and white students in the state.”